Under the auspices of the Federal Minister of Education and Research Anja Karliczek, the German gas industry recognised innovative concepts for the use of natural gas as an energy source at the end of November. The MAN Lion's City G with hybrid module came in second in the Mobility and Transport category. If the pool of submissions is limited to companies from the commercial vehicle sector, MAN Truck & Bus has the best concept.

　　The gas version of the new MAN city bus generation, which celebrated its world début at this year's IAA Commercial Vehicles trade show in Hanover, features the completely new E18 engine series. Compared to its predecessor, the gas engine offers higher torque with lower displacement, making it both more powerful and more compact. “MAN has been the market and technology leader in natural gas buses in Europe for many years. In order to be able to offer our customers state-of-the-art technology in the future, we have applied our 75 years of expertise in gas drives to the development of a new engine. I am therefore particularly pleased that it has been able to convince the jury tasked with choosing the winner of the German gas industry’s Innovation Prize with its outstanding economic efficiency and extremely low exhaust emissions,” says Rudi Kuchta, Head of Product & Sales Bus at MAN Truck & Bus.

　　Particularly well received was the overall concept of the new MAN Lion's City G in combination with the MAN EfficientHybrid hybrid module, which makes bus operation even more economical. Especially when combined with an optional hybrid solution, cities have a vehicle that is as economical and environmentally friendly as possible, and that integrates seamlessly into existing operations. If the operator uses biogas, the MAN Lion's City G is the most economically and environmentally sensible solution for a virtually carbon-neutral public transport system. This is because natural gas technology has the enormous advantage that the carbon footprint is outstanding when vehicles are operated with regenerative or synthetically produced natural gas. “This is an important step into the future of MAN and many transport companies, especially with regard to air pollution control in cities,” says Kuchta.

　　The Innovation Prize of the German gas industry is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The 2018 prize is sponsored by the ASUE, BDEW, DVGW and Zukunft Erdgas associations and the partner Wintershall. Among the numerous submissions, the jury, headed by Dr Reinhard Schomäcker from the Institute of Chemistry at the Technical University of Berlin, awarded prizes to the best energy concepts in the gas industry.